"How do you do it?"

When I tell people that I work full time from home with a toddler, people often say things like

"Really? That is so cool!"

"Wow...how do you do it?"

"Oh my gosh.  I would go insane."

"So, do you actually get any work done?"


When I first became a Work At-Home Mom (WAHM), I felt a little bit like someone stuck in two worlds at the same time.  I was technically a working mom, and technically a stay at home mom, but I wasn't really either.  To be honest, it was a little lonely at first.  At the time, I only knew one other person who worked at home with her baby, and she lived *literally* a thousand miles away.  I couldn't cheer to my coworkers about how I succeeded in attending a live phone conference AND managed to get my baby to sleep AT THE SAME TIME.  They wouldn't get it.  And I couldn't tell my six-month old about the really annoying email I had just read.  He didn't care.

Even though I was lost in lonely-ville, I was thrilled at the opportunities working from home afforded me.  I was so excited that I COULD live in both of these worlds simultaneously.  I have always enjoyed working, and our financial goals meant that quitting altogether was not an option.  I wanted more time with my son, and I needed to work.  VOILA!  Working from home has been an amazing solution.

So, back to my original purpose for this post...

As I said, people are often asking me how I do it all.  Well, I don't.  I don't do it all.  That is impossible.  But I do quite a bit.

I like lists, so I made a list of the top 5 ways I manage to be a work at home mom:

1. I get up early.  Most days, I try to be working by 6am.  Considering I don't really have to "get ready" and my commute consists of walking to the basement, I wake up about 5 minutes before I start work.  Starting early allows me to get a couple hours of work done before Max wakes up and the day begins.

2. I prioritize my housework.  Generally, I save all household chores and tasks for when Max is awake.  I empty the dishwasher while he eats breakfast.  We fold and put away laundry together.  We vacuum together.  Sometimes I fantasize about full time stay at home moms getting to do these things during nap times.  (Honestly, I don't even know if that's when stay at home moms do stuff like that.  Seriously, I just fantasize...)  But I also think it is good for Max to take part in some of those tasks.  (Oh, I should also mention that part of prioritizing my housework has been to lower my standards.  Seriously.  Vacuuming once a week?  Maybe.  Once a month?  More likely.  Sparkling bathrooms?  Um, I don't plan on eating in there, so how clean does it really need to be?)

3. I prioritize my work work.  I take advantage of those early morning hours and naptime to focus on work projects that require my undivided attention.  While Max is awake, I check emails often and grade assignments (I'm an online teacher) that can be done quickly.

4. I find things to do that get us out of the house, but only for a little bit.  A couple days a week, I try to get us out of the house.  Max and I both do much better when we have a chance to leave the house sometimes and see other people.  Plus, it gives me a reason to brush my hair.  ;)  I don't want to spend much money, which would necessitate working even more, so we do a lot of budget-friendly things.  For example, we go to storytime at the library once a week.  It is totally free, and it gets us out of the house for an hour.

5. I set boundries.  I do not work on weekends.  Period.  I rarely even turn on the computer between 5pm on Friday and early Monday morning.  Unless I have a meeting scheduled, I try not to work between dinner and bedtime.  During the day, when Max seems especially needy, I walk away from the computer and just sit on the floor to read a story.  Those times are important to me and my family.

Well, there's a good start!  I'd like to explore more about this as my blog gets rolling. But Max is tugging at my chair, and I think we need to stack some blocks together.

ttyl